Conventional medicinal practice for protecting a medicinal site (e.g. intravenous sites, bandages, compresses, wounds, topical medicinals) of an appendage of a hospitalized or institutionalized patient when showering or bathing is to wrap and tape a plastic wrap about the medicinal site and appendage. Sealing of the medicinal site from external contamination and damage is often unsuccessful. Taping of the plastic wrap to cover the medicinal site generally requires taping the plastic wrap to the appendage. The taped seal occasionally fails to adhesively adhere to the appendage allowing water and other contaminants to damage or contaminate the medicinal site. Consequently, considerable time and effort to reestablish a damaged or contaminated medicinal site is often required by medical personnel. The taped plastic wrap is also generally bulky and uncomfortable. Removal of the taped plastic can result in pain or injury to the patient or the medicinal site.
The prior art generally reflects an unawareness of an oversized tubular, water-repelling sleeve protector that is open at both ends for slipping over an appendage, and equipped at both tubular ends with cushioned, elasticized means for drawing the sealing ends snugly against the appendage to internally seal the medicinal site from water and other environmental contamination. Also undisclosed is a method for manufacturing and using such sleeve to protect a medicinal site or an appendage from exposure by pulling a tubular sleeve with elasticized means over the human appendage.
Illustrative of the prior art teachings are the following patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,233 discloses a sterile glove which, when removed from a package in which it is contained, is pulled generally in the direction of unrolling, and a tab or string unrolls the glove along the wearers forearm.
A cosmetic glove having a hand and arm-receiving portion that is connected by overlapping straps provided on the back of arm-receiving portions is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,016,027.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,851 discloses tubular bandages in rolled form with one end portion rolled outwardly from the free end of the bandage and the other end portion rolled inwardly from the opposite free end, so that in use, a bandage of suitable size may be selected and easily fitted around a body part to be bandaged.
There exists a need for a protective sleeve which may be utilized for a wide variety of different sized and shaped appendages in protecting a medicinal site from contamination and damage. A protective sleeve which could be readily applied to the medicinal site and sanitarily sealed against external contaminants would fulfill a long existing health care need. Protective sleeves which could easily be applied, removed and reused without creating discomfort or injury to the patient would represent a substantial advance and savings in costs and labor for providers of health care services.